S.Korea open to inter-Korean talks sans apology, official says

Posted on : 2011-05-04 14:37 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
The denuclearization issue has been tied to the Cheonan and Yeonpyeong issues by the government

By Son Won-je, Staff Writer 
 
A senior South Korean government official said Tuesday that if North Korea responds favorably to the idea of inter-Korean denuclearization talks between senior representatives to the six-party talks, Seoul would be willing to hold the talks even without an apology from North Korea for the Cheonan sinking and artillery attack on Yeonpyeong Island.
“North Korea said it is going to denuclearize, and we cannot say we will not hold denuclearization talks at all just because there has been no apology for the Cheonan or Yeonpyeong Island,” the official said.
The remarks are noteworthy in that they clearly state plans to deal with a North Korean apology and inter-Korean denuclearization talks as separate issues. With this, it may be possible to escape the constraints of the Cheonan and Yeonpyeong Island issues, which have effectively impeded progress toward resumption of the six-party talks, and have discussions on denuclearization take place on a separate track.
The official went on to say, “Since it is difficult to view inter-Korean denuclearization talks as purely inter-Korean talks, as they fall within the framework of the six-party talks, which are international multilateral discussions, we cannot regard apologies for the Cheonan and Yeonpyeong Island as conditions for the talks themselves.”
“It is, of course, important to have apologies for the Cheonan and Yeonpyeong Island, but denuclearization is every bit as important, indeed more so,” the official added.
South Korea, the U.S., Japan, and China recently agreed upon a three-stage plan for resuming the six-party talks, in which inter-Korean denuclearization talks would represent the first stage, North Korea-U.S. dialogue the second, and six-party talks the third.
 
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